Orville_third
Banned
Never knew LeMay was an environmentalist! This gets even cooler!
BTW, what would he think of NASA?
BTW, what would he think of NASA?
The Diplomat: A Presidency in a Week
- Thread starter Plumber
- Start date
Oh man, I think I know what you have in store for us with this one based on a thread from a while back. 
Love it! All the way for Bombs Away, Lemay.
Love it! All the way for Bombs Away, Lemay.I am really puzzled at this point, I believed we were in the 50's and instead we are in the late 60's?
So I am oriented to guess something happened to Nixon after winning the elections but prior to take the oath...? There was a Nixon/LeMay ticket perhaps? Guess there is to wait still a while then to know what really happened...
So I am oriented to guess something happened to Nixon after winning the elections but prior to take the oath...? There was a Nixon/LeMay ticket perhaps? Guess there is to wait still a while then to know what really happened...
Q&A with President LeMay
This has not been in a week.
*Affirmative grunt*
Why?
Busy.
When is the next update?
Now.
Really?
*Affirmative grunt*
Oh, ok. Will we find out the POD?
*Negative grunt*
Why??? Some people don't even know what the hell is going on, you bastard!
It's a small detail.
You're killing me, LeMay.
I am not.
Yes, you are.
I know what killing is.
Sorry.
Silence.
Silence becomes awkward silence.
...Can you at least tell us the POD first?
I'm more concerned with people assuming that I have "a thunderbolt in one hand, a nuclear warhead in the other and a kind of wild gleam in my eye anxious to plunge this country into a nuclear war if given half a chance."[3]
Ok, granted. But I think you've been shown as more nuanced than your popular image so far.
*Affirmative grunt*
So can you tell us the POD?
I think my pre-POD past is more relevant than the POD.
¿Por qué no los dos?
*Affirmative grunt*
I didn't know you knew Spanish.
This is exactly why my past is important to know.
Ok, ok, we get it. But POD first.
*Affirmative grunt*
---
POD: July 21, 1968 at the National Governor's Conference. Governor Lester Maddox (D-GA) goes to the bathroom, averting an encounter with a gunman who intended to assassinate Ronald Reagan (R-CA). IOTL, Maddox alerted security when he "bumped against something hard in the hotel lobby."[4]
[3] Curtis E. LeMay Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Container D-2.
[4] Perlstein, Rick (2008-05-13). Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. Page 294. Scribner.
This has not been in a week.
*Affirmative grunt*
Why?
Busy.
When is the next update?
Now.
Really?
*Affirmative grunt*
Oh, ok. Will we find out the POD?
*Negative grunt*
Why??? Some people don't even know what the hell is going on, you bastard!
It's a small detail.
You're killing me, LeMay.
I am not.
Yes, you are.
I know what killing is.
Sorry.
Silence.
Silence becomes awkward silence.
...Can you at least tell us the POD first?
I'm more concerned with people assuming that I have "a thunderbolt in one hand, a nuclear warhead in the other and a kind of wild gleam in my eye anxious to plunge this country into a nuclear war if given half a chance."[3]
Ok, granted. But I think you've been shown as more nuanced than your popular image so far.
*Affirmative grunt*
So can you tell us the POD?
I think my pre-POD past is more relevant than the POD.
¿Por qué no los dos?
*Affirmative grunt*
I didn't know you knew Spanish.
This is exactly why my past is important to know.
Ok, ok, we get it. But POD first.
*Affirmative grunt*
---
POD: July 21, 1968 at the National Governor's Conference. Governor Lester Maddox (D-GA) goes to the bathroom, averting an encounter with a gunman who intended to assassinate Ronald Reagan (R-CA). IOTL, Maddox alerted security when he "bumped against something hard in the hotel lobby."[4]
[3] Curtis E. LeMay Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Container D-2.
[4] Perlstein, Rick (2008-05-13). Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. Page 294. Scribner.
Maybe martyr Reagan creates some sort of landslide rally around Wallace as the law and order candidate.
Number of delegates needed to win the 1968 Republican nomination on the first ballot: 667
Number of delegates Nixon got in 1968 IOTL on the first ballot: 692
Number of delegates Goldwater got in 1964: 895
"All the top Goldwater plotters from 1964 were in the Nixon camp, even William F. Buckley, even Goldwater himself— all, that is, except F. Clifton White. All the Republican candidates had approached White to work for them. Nixon did it twice, the second time offering him the party chairmanship. “No thank you,” White replied, as Nixon pitched his tumbler of Scotch forward in shock at his Fifth Avenue town house.
Clif White loved Ronald Reagan, and Clif White had a plan. He had broken the Republican Establishment once. He was convinced he could do it again.
To win at a nominating convention, a candidate needed a majority of delegate votes. Failing that, a second roll call was taken— then a third, and so on. Nixon had won first-ballot commitments from Republicans of every stripe by reminding them of the pain of the 1964 blowout. But with a range of commitments that broad, none could be very deep. A grassroots insurgency to persuade some small number of conservatives, Southerners especially, to vote their consciences for Reagan, just enough to deny Nixon his 50 percent plus one on the first ballot, could blow the whole thing open.
Nelson Rockefeller, waving around Nixon-can’t-win polls he had commissioned using his bottomless financial resources, would be attempting the same thing. Up to the taking of that first convention ballot, their interests were identical— stop Nixon. On the second ballot, White was convinced, Rocky would be overwhelmed. And Reagan would be the Republican nominee."[5]
[5] Ibid, p 282.
Number of delegates Nixon got in 1968 IOTL on the first ballot: 692
Number of delegates Goldwater got in 1964: 895
"All the top Goldwater plotters from 1964 were in the Nixon camp, even William F. Buckley, even Goldwater himself— all, that is, except F. Clifton White. All the Republican candidates had approached White to work for them. Nixon did it twice, the second time offering him the party chairmanship. “No thank you,” White replied, as Nixon pitched his tumbler of Scotch forward in shock at his Fifth Avenue town house.
Clif White loved Ronald Reagan, and Clif White had a plan. He had broken the Republican Establishment once. He was convinced he could do it again.
To win at a nominating convention, a candidate needed a majority of delegate votes. Failing that, a second roll call was taken— then a third, and so on. Nixon had won first-ballot commitments from Republicans of every stripe by reminding them of the pain of the 1964 blowout. But with a range of commitments that broad, none could be very deep. A grassroots insurgency to persuade some small number of conservatives, Southerners especially, to vote their consciences for Reagan, just enough to deny Nixon his 50 percent plus one on the first ballot, could blow the whole thing open.
Nelson Rockefeller, waving around Nixon-can’t-win polls he had commissioned using his bottomless financial resources, would be attempting the same thing. Up to the taking of that first convention ballot, their interests were identical— stop Nixon. On the second ballot, White was convinced, Rocky would be overwhelmed. And Reagan would be the Republican nominee."[5]
[5] Ibid, p 282.
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Japhy
Banned
Hardcore Law and Order is going to be making some major inroads it seems for 1968. I can speculate a number of possible ways we're going to get to LeMay in the White House but I'm going to be interested in seeing how a fight between Conservative factions is going to strengthen both sides when there is a Democratic Party on the other side of things too.
Anyway, glad to see this is still going. We should all renew our abandoned projects more often.
Anyway, glad to see this is still going. We should all renew our abandoned projects more often.
"LeMay was not a racist. There is absolutely nothing among his extensive papers, or any anecdotes over his very long career with slurs about any group or religion. Even in his criticism of liberals, he never pointed to any minority group. Many of the top World War II generals, including General Patton and General Stilwell, could not completely pass this test. Furthermore, LeMay had supported the Secretary of the Air Force, Stuart Symington, in initiating integration after World War II. Leaders in the Air Force determined that segregating units by race was wasteful and reduced productivity while excluding a huge talent pool.
LeMay firmly believed in rewarding excellence and stamping out incompetence. It was his method of motivation and as well as a way to remove dead wood. A person’s looks, religion, or politics were inconsequential. When the desegregation order came down, LeMay did not question it. Instead, in his usual fashion, he figured out how to make it work best. LeMay understood that there would be resistance at first from many white officers and enlisted men, especially those from the South. In order to mitigate this, he ordered his assistants to find the most qualified black airmen. Just as Dodger owner Branch Rickey waited until he found Jackie Robinson, an exceptionally strong human being who could withstand the inevitable insults that would come his way, LeMay would use these black airmen as the trailblazers. He knew the white officers and men would eventually come on board." [6]
[6] Kozak, Warren (2011-10-17). LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay (pp. 372-373). Regnery Publishing. Kindle Edition.
LeMay firmly believed in rewarding excellence and stamping out incompetence. It was his method of motivation and as well as a way to remove dead wood. A person’s looks, religion, or politics were inconsequential. When the desegregation order came down, LeMay did not question it. Instead, in his usual fashion, he figured out how to make it work best. LeMay understood that there would be resistance at first from many white officers and enlisted men, especially those from the South. In order to mitigate this, he ordered his assistants to find the most qualified black airmen. Just as Dodger owner Branch Rickey waited until he found Jackie Robinson, an exceptionally strong human being who could withstand the inevitable insults that would come his way, LeMay would use these black airmen as the trailblazers. He knew the white officers and men would eventually come on board." [6]
[6] Kozak, Warren (2011-10-17). LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay (pp. 372-373). Regnery Publishing. Kindle Edition.
TFSmith121
Banned
But, but, but, we all know Lemay was a racist warmonger!
But, but, but, we all know Lemay was a racist warmonger!
Just like we all know the only thing that saved the 8th Army in 1950 was the Chinese lack of coats and hats...
All kidding aside, nice point of departure on an interesting and oft-caricatured individual. Looking forward to more.
Best,
But, but, but, we all know Lemay was a racist warmonger!
Just like we all know the only thing that saved the 8th Army in 1950 was the Chinese lack of coats and hats...
All kidding aside, nice point of departure on an interesting and oft-caricatured individual. Looking forward to more.
Best,
Japhy
Banned
George Wallace: "I'm Going to pretend to be respectful because you all know what I think and yet I'm aiming to try and get you all to vote for me anyway."
Ronald Reagan: "Uppity N----rs always need to get taught lessons."